Improvement in boot-crimping machines



W. W. WILMUT. 1 Boot-Crimping Machines.

N0.l51,643, v Patentedjune2,874.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM w. wrLMoT, or MoNEoEvILLE, ortro.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOOT-CRIMPING MACHINES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 151,643, dated June 2, 1874 application filed v April 3,1874.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I,W1LLIAM W. WILMOT, of Monroeville, in the county of Huron and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boot-Crimping Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marledthereon, which form a part of this specication.

My invention relates to machines for crimping boots; and the invention consists in certain new and improved mechanical devices and combinations whereby the operation of crimping or giving the desired shape to the leather is performed with great ease and rapidity, and the shape given to the leather is such that when the boot is in use no wrinkles are formed at the ankles, all as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is avside elevation of my improved crimpingmachine, showing the positions of the parts when the boot-leg is being crimped. Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the leather stretched on the former before being crimped, and with one of the jaws cut away to show the serrated metal lining. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the jaws, showing their construction and the springs by which they are held apart. Fig. 4 is a detached and enlarged view, showing the construction of the hitch-on or griper for stretching and holding the leather on the former.

Referring to the parts by letters, letter A represents the pedestal or supporting-frame of the machine, having at one end a slotted upright, A', and a longitudinal slot, a, cut through its center for the reception of the lower end of the jaws. B represents the brake or former, pivoted to the standards A at its lower end, and secured to a long handle, B', at its other, thc whole making a lever of considerable power. The upper portion of the brake B is shaped on its inner edge so as to give the desired form to the boot-leg, the swell b imparting the required contour ot' the insteppiece. G is a 4ever, pivoted to the standard b, projecting from the handle B. D anl arc-shaped ratchet-bar, alsol secured to. the

handle B, and projecting upward therefromthrough a slot formed in the lever C. c is a pawl, pivoted in a slot in the lever C, and.

(see Fig. 4) consists of two jaws, c c, pivotedy together, and, having their lower ends serrated or cut with teeth, e. Their upper ends are grooved on their inner faces, and linclose a wedge-shaped block, e, having a stem, 0', by means of which it is linked to the bent bar c of lever C. G G are two jaws of peculiar form, corresponding on their front and upper sides with the shape of the former B. Their inner sides are shod or faced with metal plates H, preferably of zinc, which are cut or serrated with a diamond-shaped pattern. The lower sides of the jaws are tenoned, the tenoned 'part being inserted in the slot a of the frame A, the shoulders resting squarely on the top of the frame. I I are steel springplates, secured at one side to the under side of the tenons of the jaws, and their other orv free side resting beneath and against the top of frame A. g g are two screws, passed through one ot' the jaws, their inner ends resting against the inside of the other jaw. J is a bolt or axle, passed centrally through the jaws, having a spiral spring, j, on the portion which passes between the jaws. K is a cam-lever, secured to the bolt J on its threaded end, and k is a corresponding camblock, secured to the outer side yof the jaw Gf at the same point, or where the bolt passes through. L is a screw-nut on the threaded end of the bolt J, outside of the cam-lever K.

The operation of my invention is as follows:

`The leather to be crimped, after being properly shaped, is placed on theformer in the usual way. The ends at the ankle portion, or opposite to the instep, are then inserted between the serrated jaws of the griper E, and the lever C pressed downward, thereby stretching the leather upon the former, particularly at the instep-piece, and, as it obvious from the construction of the griperI the greater the strain the firmer it will hold, the block e" in the slotted portions of the jaws e e necessarily bringing the serrated portions e closer together with a tighter gripe. When the leather has been sufficiently stretched upon the former, the lever C is'seeured in position by causing the pawl c to engage with the ratchet-bar l). The former is now brought down so as to enter between the jaws G G. The cam-lever K is then pressed do'wn so as to bring the jaws close up against the leather, in which position the jaws are secured by the screw-'nut L. The crimping is then performed in the usual way by forcing the former carrying the leather down between the jaws by means of the lever Bf, the diamond-shaped serrated plates on the inner side of the jaws gripin g the leather with suficient strength to hold it against -the front edge of the former, so as to receive the desired impression without injury to the material. By unscrewing the nut L and raising the lever K, the jaws at once spring apart through the action of the springs, and the former or brake is immediately released. The screws g g regulate the distance between the lower side 'of the jaws, and prevent them coming together at that point, and the springs I I hold the jaws to Y the frame in proper working position without interfering with their lateral motion or play.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the former B and lever B', with the lever C, ratchet D, pawl c, and with the griper E, the whole constructed substantially as and for thevpurpose speciiied.

2. The jaws G G, having the diamond-shaped serrated plates H, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The spring-plates I I, for attaching the jaws GG to the frame A, in manner and for the purpose specified.

4. The jaws G G, plates I I, bolt J, camlever K, and earn k, and screw-nut L, in conibination with the former B, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM WILMOT.

Vitnesses WILLIAM SIPE, ALVAH S. SKILTON. 

